1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a grinding shoe having a side plate on the bottom of the sole thereof for sliding along a rail or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Since introduction of grinding shoes by Artemis Innovations Inc., assignee of the present application as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,631, such shoes have gained great popularity among active young athletes. Such shoes have been sold under the trademark SOAP(copyright) and typically incorporate a hard slide plate imbedded upwardly in the arch area of an athletic shoe and having a somewhat saddle shape for engaging over a pipe, rail or the like to slide therealong.
Such shoes typically incorporate a recess of a selected configuration raised upwardly in the bottom surface of the shoe for receipt of a grind plate often held therein by mechanical fastener means. It is typical of such shoes that the grind plates incorporate generally cylindrically shaped, downwardly opening concave slide tracks which might curve slightly upwardly on the opposite directions from a longitudinal center line. Such grind plates are satisfactory for introductory uses and perform adequately for even intermediate performance. However, for higher performance athletes who endeavor to perform extreme athletic maneuvers, grind plates configured to accommodate different athletic maneuvers employing inclination of the foot to one side or the other are desirable. One such extreme maneuver is referred to in the art as a xe2x80x9croyalxe2x80x9d maneuver. This maneuver involves a deep knee bend where the athlete""s leg is inclined outwardly to place the weight and forces toward the lateral outside of the plate allowing the athlete to grind along a rail or the like in a high speed controlled highly athletic maneuver. Thus, there exists a need for a grind plate incorporating a grind track which is tailored to control sliding travel over a supporting rail and to cooperate in holding the plate engaged with the underlying slide rail even during the extreme xe2x80x9cRoyalexe2x80x9d maneuvers.
Many prior grind plates have been constructed with relatively heavy thick construction with a relatively high rise in the arch area to endure the high shocks and forces associated with high speed athletic maneuvers involving jumping forcefully onto a support rail. Consequently, many of such prior grind plates require the shoe sole to be of a relatively thick construction in order to accommodate the rise in the plate itself. Such devices thus elevate the wearer""s foot above the underlying support surface thus detracting from the preferred stability afforded by what might be thought of as a low center of gravity during athletic maneuvers. Additionally, such relatively thick shoe soles serve to provide a somewhat elevated shoe which can restrict the normal movement associated with walking and running. Consequently, there exists a need for a high performance grind shoe having a low profile configuration to facilitate more normal walking maneuvers and high grade athletic maneuvers.
A number of maneuvers associated with high performance grinding involves speed control. Speed control is often maintained by leaning the shoe over from one side to the other to engage a brake mounted on the shoe with the underlying support surface to apply frictional forces to the shoe. A device of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,450, assigned to the assignee of the instant application. Such devices incorporate wear resistant brakes sold under the trade name KEVILAR(copyright) which is relatively expensive thus driving up the cost of manufacture and retail price of shoes.
Prior shoes have incorporated soles constructed of polyurethane. Such shoes, while enjoying significant commercial success particularly when incorporating a heavy grind plate, can be fairly heavy thus somewhat restricting the more extreme athletic maneuvers. Consequently, it is desirable to employ one or both a lightweight grind shoe sole and a lightweight grind plate. Thus, it is desirable to incorporate a sole constructed with a low specific gravity material and a lightweight grind plate.
The grind shoe apparatus of the present invention is characterized by a grind plate having a downwardly opening, transversely extending trough projecting generally horizontally from the medial toward the lateral side of the foot but at the lateral side of the foot being configured with an upwardly and laterally outwardly inclined Royale track.
One embodiment of the present invention incorporates a recess of a predetermined configuration formed in the bottom of the shoe sole and having front and back vertical wall sections. The grind plate is configured to be complementally received in such recess and secured thereto with one or the other, or both, of the forward and rearward edges thereof being spaced from the respective forward or rearward wall of such recess.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the grind plate is formed with a relatively shallow rise and is configured with a relatively low rise, a relatively shallow grind track is relatively thin and is bonded to the shoe sole recess to provide a relatively low profile.